and were renewed as a perpetual lease. Mount Tabor homeowners (known as "Leaseholders") paid a yearly rent to the Camp Meeting Association for their lots with their town assessment and township taxes. The association rent is now proportionately low; two dollars per year for small lots and four dollars a year for the larger ones. As the tents gave way to small cottages, development in Mount Tabor developed spread out from Trinity Place, an area that included three octagonal buildings - the Tabernacle and Bethel, and Ebenezer pavilions. Since there were no longer crowds of people, the Bethel was large enough to house the townspeople during Sunday service. A minister was hired each Sunday by the CMA to lead services in this building. Used as a court when Mount Tabor was a municipality (with the basement acting as the jail), the Bethel is now used for civic affairs, residents' use, and by the Board of Trustees for monthly public meetings. Children's Day What has come to be known as Children's Day started in the 1870s as a Sunday School parade around Trinity Place, the original location of the camp meeting religious services. Following the parade the children were treated to ice cream, compliments of Day's ice cream tent (a Day's Ice Cream Store still exists in Ocean Grove). The Children's Day custom is known as "Walking Day" in England, where churches organize parades, provide refreshments to participants and generally have a holiday. Children's Day has evolved into a unique community festival in Mount Tabor and is still a focal point of summer on "The Hill". Development as a community Water has been, by necessity, an important aspect in the development of Mount Tabor. From the beginning, shallow lines existed to provide water to residents. However, they had to be drained for the winter for fear of freezing, thus preventing year-round occupancy. In the year 1909 deep water mains were laid in the streets and a stand pipe erected, allowing water to be provided to winter residents. As the years passed, water from the Tabor wells became affected by vegetable matter, and it was found necessary to employ water from township wells. A contract was entered into with Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, and this is how the community gets its water today. Now the water tower in St. John's park functions only as a reminder of the past. In the Great Depression,